How Do Building Automation Systems Work?
Building automation systems monitor various components inside the structure of a house, for example, heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC). The performance and durability of HVAC systems are important for today’s construction activity.
The primary objective of this form of infrastructure is to enhance the performance of the network, reduce costs and increase protection. Many of these parts are put together by a centralized building management program, but this definition is a simplification of what is actually going on behind the scenes.
Main Components of a BAS
Building Automation Systems can be added to an existing structure either during the initial construction or through a retrofitting process. It uses five categories of components to provide a smart environment for construction.
Sensors:
These devices control temperature, humidity, the number of people in a room, the level of lighting and other values. The sensors transfer this information on to central controllers.
Controller:
The part acts as the BAS “spirit.” It gathers sensor data and then sends commands to HVAC devices, lighting systems, safety alarms and other connected parts.
Output devices:
Once a command is sent out by the controller, actuators and relays go into action to meet the requirements. They can, for example, minimize or increase heating in a specific part of the building, dim lighting in empty offices or switch on the air conditioning before people get to work.
Communication protocols:
The BAS uses a specific language that is understood by individual components of the system. The most widely used solutions include BACnet and Modbus.
Terminal interface:
With that interface, users can communicate with the BAS. It presents information so users can monitor the building condition or choose to manually override settings.
Importance of User Interfaces
The terminal interface is an essential part of an efficient automation framework for the house. Organizations need a way to access the sensor-generated data, figure out whether issues need troubleshooting and search for areas of inefficiency that they can fix. A poorly designed user interface can not provide the access or insight required for a company to understand its BAS performance levels.
Modern visual data overlays offer information in a user-friendly way to the building managers. Managers will respond rapidly to changes because day-to-day monitoring of what’s going on in the system is easy to see. Communication from machine to machine guides decision-makers on objective information.
Functions of a BAS
A BAS primarily has the purpose of providing control over heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting and other critical construction systems. However, construction automation systems often track their individual components to alert construction managers about identified issues. The system may try to solve a problem automatically, depending on the issue, before getting a human involved. Continuously track and optimize the system’s own efficiency, although the building manager can make changes as necessary.